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A month from kickoff, Arkansas motivated by 'winnable' game with Auburn in 2013

"That was a very winnable game for us last year," Arkansas guard Brey Cook said. "That's a game that if we would have finished, I think we could've had a different outcome last year for both of us.

"That was definitely a close game at one point. We were only a couple of scores out from really doing some damage."

The Tigers cruised after halftime, but the Razorbacks feel they were just a play or two away from victory. Don't be the one to remind Cook and his teammates they not only never led in last year's meeting, which Auburn won handily 35-17, but the Razorbacks were not within one score of even tying the game for the final 40 minutes.

"I think about how close we were to closing that game out," said Arkansas defensive end Trey Flowers, who had three tackles in the game. "It was a play here and there and plays I gave up, plays I could've stopped."

Last year's game, the first between Gus Malzahn and Bret Bielema as head coaches, was the opening on-field chapter to what has become a philosophical locking of horns that has drawn in the national spotlight.

Their second meeting comes in one month when Auburn hosts Arkansas at 3 p.m. Aug. 30 with the SEC Network showing the events before and during the contest at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The margin for error becomes narrower with an SEC game to open the season compared to a non-conference cupcake.

"To open up with a conference game, it's dangerous to a sense," Auburn defensive lineman Gabe Wright said. "Like Washington State (last season) was my defining game; there was some things that I really lacked in that game, (defensive line) coach (Rodney Garner) was able to hit on that.

"(If) we come out soft or slow, I think that's the more dangerous part of it. You have to take your mistakes as they come, there's no practice for that. There's fall camp but you're never going to go as full-speed as the first game."

The opening battle of Malzahn's Hurry-Up, No-Huddle approach versus Bielema's "Normal American Football" went to the bespectacled pioneer of up-tempo offenses in the state of Arkansas, Malzahn's first win in four trips back to Reynolds Razorback Stadium since serving as Arkansas's offensive coordinator in 2006.

The entire nation was brought into the fold of dueling offensive camps amid the debate over the proposed, and later rescinded, 10-second rule in the spring. It was another victory of sorts for Malzahn, who led Auburn to an SEC Championship and to within 13 seconds of the BCS National Championship, collecting a bookcase worth of national coach of the year awards.

"As far as playing no‑huddle offenses, it is absolutely probably one of the most enjoyable things I can have as a coach," Bielema said. "There's nothing more enjoyable than to see a no‑huddle offense sitting on the sideline and can't stand it.

"But to do that you have to play really good defense and you have to play well on offense. For my formula to work and complete wins, you have to be able to be good offensively, defensively and on special teams. All three have to work together."

In one month's time we'll know if Bielema was able to get his pieces to work together well enough to knock off the reigning champions.